Home
by detective-smartypants
Summary: Callie had spent a life moving from house to house and, for the first time in her life, she was finally somewhere that offered her shelter and safety. Set after 'the fallout'. A small one shot, focusing on how Lena and Stef support Callie after her confession.


Opening up was something she had always promised herself she would avoid. She had never been one to trust other people because she had spent her entire life being hurt by those who were supposed to care about her.

When you spend your life moving from house to house and school to school, it's difficult to make bonds and create relationships. She had gotten used to the fact that she would never find a home that would truly open up their arms to her and accept her. All those years ago, she had thought for a brief moment that she had found that place. It was warm and inviting and, for a small amount of time, _Safe_. The only problem was that she had let her guard down for a moment and that landed her back to a life without a home or a family. But that wasn't what kept her awake at night, that wasn't what made her so afraid of people. The thing that scared her was that person who took it all away and how he did it.

She had promised herself she would never tell anyone, that no one ever needed to know. Yet, here she was.

They were looking at her and she could see the concern sweep across their features as she spoke slowly and quietly. She didn't want to trust this family; she would have preferred to be alone, but they gave her a home, a bed, food, shelter, safety. Why shouldn't she trust them?

Still, the nerves were making her stomach flip and making her hands and legs shake. She couldn't help but worry that maybe they would think this was her fault for letting him in in the first place. She said it like a mantra over and over again, _it's not your fault…it's not your fault. _

When she was finished talking, Lena was the first to stand up. She walked across the room and sat down on a chair across from her. Slowly, carefully, she extended her arm and placed her hands above Callie's. The action itself spoke louder than words ever could, they said _You're safe and we will protect you. _

Lena was the kind of woman that would just glance at you and you would feel protected. Her gaze was like warmth, like shelter, like _love. _Callie appreciated that, but had to remind herself that this family wouldn't always be her family and that was why she had avoided opening up. Because they were only here until she found another home, they were only here for an uncertain amount of time and that terrified her because she had never felt this _right_.

It didn't take long for stef to stand up, too. She walked across the room and sat on the floor at Callie's knee. She extended a hand and took Callie's free hand in her own.

"It's good that you told us this, Callie."

She had promised herself there would be no tears.

Tears showed vulnerability, and she didn't want people to see that.

Tears showed weakness, and she had to be strong.

Tears showed that she was scared. No one needed to know that.

But they came regardless and they were falling faster than she could stop them.

Falling because these women sat there with her hands in their own and told her that things would be okay and that she was safe. Falling because she had never felt so relieved to be honest. Falling because everything here was easy and _okay_ and this wasn't her home. Not for long, anyway.

She must have fallen asleep because when she opened her eyes, she was on the sofa with a blanket wrapped over her and for a brief moment, she was terrified that she was alone, that it was dark. But there was Lena and Stef, camped out on the floor with their own blanket, wrapped in each other's arms safely.

Lena must have already been awake, because she turned to face Callie and gave her a warm smile before unwrapping herself from Stef's arms and moving to sit down on the sofa with Callie.

"Are you okay, honey?"

Callie slowly nodded and kept her mouth firmly shut; worried that she had shared too much already.

"It was so brave telling us what happened, Callie."

She looked down at her shaking hands and nodded again, willing herself not to cry for the second time in one night.

"I…uh, I just needed to tell someone…you know, for Sarah."

"Are we the first people you've ever told?"

Callie wondered if she should continue for a moment, but Lena's eyes informed her that she was there to help, not to hurt.

"I guess I tried, but at the time I, uh, figured it was my fault."

"It wasn't."

Lena reached her hand forward and pushed a strand of hair away from Callie's eyes. She gave her a warm smile and shuffled so that she was sitting right next to Callie.

"Everyone handles trauma differently. It's just the way it is. There are people who bottle up, who let it all out, who talk and cry, who just give up. Then there is you. You're such a strong young girl, you know that? I've met a lot of people in my life who have been through more than someone should have to handle and I've seen all those different ways of coping. But you have spent your life putting Jude ahead of yourself and being tough and independent because why should you trust people? All they've done is hurt you, and I understand that. Since you've come here, I've seen you change bit by bit. You open up more, smile more and more every day. It's so sad to see that you spent such a long time hiding what happened to you, because you didn't need to do that. It would not have made you weak to be honest about it, and Jude would have never been angry at you for having to leave that home. He would have understood. I'm so proud of you for telling us, despite the fact that it was probably one of the hardest things you've ever had to do."

Callie closed her eyes for a moment and took in a deep breath to calm her nerves. Lena was probably the most kind and honest person Callie had ever met in her entire life. Her arms were shelter and her words were _home_. But that scared her because she had to constantly remind herself over and over again that this wasn't her home. Not forever. Some time, maybe in a few days, who knew? She would end up packing her things up and leaving to go to another place, another house with another family that would consist of a strict mother and a distant father and probably a resentful sister, too. The family she would end up with would only take her because they like Jude. The family she would end up with would end up tossing her out the moment she turns 18. The family she would eventually call her family wouldn't be this one, and for some reason that really hurt.

Because Lena was loving and kind and warm and Stef was protective and harsh but so full of love that it sometimes hurt to look into her eyes. Then there was Brandon who was there for her and accepted her the moment she stepped foot into this house. Jesus and Mariana treated her like a sister, and understood the position she was in.

She probably wouldn't admit this, not to anyone, but she wanted this family to be her own more than she wanted anything in the entire world.

"Why did you let us stay with you?"

Callie hadn't even meant to speak, but found the words slipping out of her mouth before she could stop them.

"We believe that we are the right people to offer you this. We believe that you deserve this."

Callie looked right into Lena's eyes for a moment and wiped a tear away from her eye before it could fall. "But I'm so broken."

Lena wrapped her arms around Callie and laid down on the corner of the sofa, letting Callie rest her head on her shoulder while she ran her hands through her hair.

"No, you're not broken at all."

A home is safe and warm. A home is inviting and relaxing. A home is where you can take off your shoes and sit with your family and lay down on the sofa at the end of the day. A home is where you find shelter, eat hearty meals, laugh and cry. A home is easy and comfortable. A home is where you heart is, where your safety is, where your family sleeps and eats.

She had always wondered what a home would feel like. She had come to accept that she probably would never truly understand.

But here she was, breathing heavily and laying in Lena's arms, falling asleep for the first time in days. Feeling safe for the first time in her entire life.

Right now, she understood.

She would get through the idea of people knowing what had happened to her.

She would live through the nightmares.

She would be able to smile and laugh and _live._

Maybe it was okay that this wouldn't be forever, maybe it was okay that she had all of this just for now.

_A home. _


End file.
